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<title>A Problem Shared (Is a Problem Halved) by brokencasbutt67</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24650353">A Problem Shared (Is a Problem Halved)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/brokencasbutt67/pseuds/brokencasbutt67'>brokencasbutt67</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Murdoch Mysteries</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Crying, Cuddling &amp; Snuggling, F/M, Light Angst, Nightmares</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 03:13:30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>800</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24650353</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/brokencasbutt67/pseuds/brokencasbutt67</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>just angsty fluff</p><p>not 100% sure if i like this, let me know what you think</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>William Murdoch/Julia Ogden</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A Problem Shared (Is a Problem Halved)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Beaten and bruised, William’s body floats through the rivers, stopping near where Julia stands. She runs down the stairs, her dress soaked by the murky water as she drags his body onto the path.</p><p> </p><p>His face is twisted into a smirk, as though he planned for her to find him like this.</p><p> </p><p>That’s not the case though, William wouldn’t hurt her like this.</p><p> </p><p>They danced around their feelings for too long, and now as he lay dead in her arms, Julia knows that it’s too late.</p><p>
  
</p><p>Julia brushes her hair back as she sits upright, sweat covering her hand. She wipes it away; the duvet shifts as she moves. Her chest heaves as the images flicker through her head again, all of the images that have plagued her sleep for so long. It’s like some cruel taunt, making her relive the trauma over and over.</p><p> </p><p>William’s alive, he’s well and he’s beside her, yet still, her sleep is plagued by these images.</p><p> </p><p>When she had heard that William had jumped off of a bridge, she knew that there was no way he would survive the fall, she knew that she’d messed up by not telling him how she feels, that she should never have married Darcy; it was too late. </p><p> </p><p>But he had survived, and she saw him again. Julia knew that she’d been given a second chance. She didn’t even try to hide her love for him when he hobbled into the station. She jumped into his arms, kissing him deeply.</p><p> </p><p>There were cheers and catcalls, amongst other comments, but that didn’t matter. Instead, Julia was focused on the man in her arms.</p><p> </p><p>Their relationship flourished. As colleagues, they were powerful, but in a relationship, they’re unstoppable. Yet still, Julia is held back by her nightmares. </p><p> </p><p>Before she can get lost in her head, William is there. His hand trails up her side, pulling her down into his arms.</p><p><br/>“What has you awake?” He murmurs. Julia turns to him, holding him close. </p><p> </p><p>Neither speak for a while. There’s nothing to say; Julia doesn’t know what to say and she doesn’t particularly want to spoil the moment.</p><p> </p><p>Eventually with a slight nudge from William, Julia responds.<br/><br/>“James Gillies, the…” She trails off, trying to hide the hitch in her voice or the shakiness in her breathing. She doesn’t need to though because William is there.</p><p> </p><p>It’s his fingers that are tracing swirls down her back; it’s his warmth that surrounds her; it’s his lips that are pressed against the top of her head. He’s here.</p><p> </p><p>“The night… when George called to tell me that you’d jumped off of the bridge” Julia murmurs. She rests her head over his heart, listening to it beat beneath her ear. It calms her racing heart, reminding her that he’s still here, and he’s beside her.<br/><br/>“I was… terrified” Julia admits. William briefly stills his hand, though only to move it to play with hair her for a while. It further calms her racing heart. <br/><br/>“I didn’t want to believe it at first…” Julia continues. She strokes her fingers over his chest. <br/>“I blamed myself, I was filled with…” She can’t find the words to adequately explain how she felt.</p><p> </p><p>“When I was…” Julia lets out a shaky breath. She blinks away tears, entirely unsure of why she is putting herself through the trauma again.</p><p> </p><p>William’s hand trails down her spine again, swirling over the skin. It calms her, more than words could ever describe. He’s staring up at the ceiling, but Julia knows that his attention is all on her. His hand is cold; he’s often cold, yet he warms Julia so much.</p><p> </p><p>“I see it every night…”</p><p> </p><p>William doesn’t speak as Julia lets out everything that’s filling her head.<br/><br/>“Images of your body, beat up and hurt” Julia admits. She looks up to William, before bringing her focus back to where her fingers are playing over his chest.  </p><p> </p><p>William’s hand strokes down her spine, tracing swirls as they lay together. After a few moments, tears are spilling over Julia’s cheek, and William’s arms find her shoulders, hugging her tightly.</p><p> </p><p>They don’t move; they don’t need to move.</p><p> </p><p>Eventually, the sun rises over Toronto.</p><p> </p><p>But neither move. They know that they need to be at work, that they have cases and bodies to look at.</p><p> </p><p>But for William, none of it matters because Julia isn’t okay.</p><p> </p><p>So, they don’t move. They only shift closer and fall back to sleep, curled impossibly close.</p><p> </p><p>It isn’t the end of the nightmares. Nothing is that simple in life.</p><p> </p><p>But by talking about them, Julia feels as though a weight has lifted from her shoulders. No longer does she hide when she wakes in the early hours to the same images that fill her sleep every other night.</p><p> </p><p> </p>
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